by Vanessa Vale
Women everywhere deserved to hate me for refusing them.
Cooper’s low, hard voice made me pause before I could slide into the driver’s seat. “You can’t get rid of us that easily, Ivy. You’re ours—you always have been.”
I couldn’t respond. My heart had jumped up into my throat, making speech impossible. You’re ours. He couldn’t be saying what I thought he was saying, right? Spinning around to face him, I was dumbstruck by the intensity of his gaze. Rory’s posture was more relaxed, but those dark eyes of his were fixed on me like I was his key to salvation. It scared me if he thought I was.
“You don’t mean that.” It was the first thing I could think to say and even to my own ears it sounded like another challenge. But that wasn’t what I meant. I meant…ah hell, I didn’t know what I meant.
Rory moved forward so he was standing beside Cooper. “We want you back, Ivy. We want you in our life.”
“Just like that? After seven years? I might be married.”
“Are you?” Cooper asked, his gaze lowering to my left hand.
I couldn’t lie to them about that. There was no ring, no obvious proof I belonged to someone else. I shook my head.
“We’ve known all this time you’re the one for us. We aim to prove it to you, if you’ll let us.”
“Just like that?” I shook my head frantically, unable to come up with the right words to make them understand. They weren’t supposed to be here. They were no longer a part of my life. “Where have you been all this time?”
Cooper’s eyes shuttered and Rory’s jaw tightened. “War.”
Rory’s one word said it all, answered so many questions for me. War. These two had seen battle and survived, but they were changed by it. I knew them well enough, even after seven years, to know they weren’t the same. Some of the anger left me then. They had been fighting to keep me and Lily safe. I couldn’t complain about them staying away.
Occasionally, I’d thought about the possibility of running into them again and how I would handle it, but I never got far with that line of thinking because it seemed impossible. Especially now that I knew they were in some far off desert fighting. It had been a hopeful daydream that I might one day see my high school crushes again, nothing more. In my daydreams it was always one day. I never thought that day would come because I had no reason to go back to Bridgewater, not with Grandma gone. There hadn’t been anything there for me there after that, not even them. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that they’d track me down. And that when they did, they’d stand before me and lay claim.
I might have moved away from Bridgewater seven years ago, but I’d been born and raised there, and I knew the town’s customs. When Bridgewater men claimed a woman, they meant it for life. When they took me in the truck bed that hot summer night, they’d made me theirs. Even after all the time that had passed, to them, I still was theirs.
If I took a moment to admit it, I still wanted to be.
Panic made breathing difficult. I had a feeling my every thought and fear was written on my face and I did my best to keep it under control. Placing one hand on top of the car, I took a deep breath. “I’m not looking for a relationship. I don’t want you to prove anything to me.” They continued to stare, but they didn’t interrupt. “I said it before and I’ll say it again. I’ve moved on, and I think you should, too.”
Cooper broke the staring contest first. He dropped his gaze and lifted a hand to scrub it across his face. He looked exhausted and worn out.
Some of the anger seeped out of my tone. “Look, I’m sorry you came all this way—”
Rory’s jaw clenched as he glanced from me to Cooper and back again. “Just one dinner.” His tone was firm, harsh almost, but his eyes were practically pleading.
I had no idea what was going on with these guys, but I couldn’t bring myself to say no. Not right away, at least. Somehow it would have seemed cruel. How could one dinner hurt?
Rory must have sensed my hesitation because he crossed the distance between us in a few quick strides, stopping when he was right in front of me, blocking me in between his hard body, the car door and the car itself. So close I could smell his aftershave. He tilted his head down so he could speak softly. “Look, Ivy. You know as well as I do that we won’t give up so easily. If there’s no man in the way, no ring on that finger, then there’s still a chance.”
I glanced up at him and wished I hadn’t. His slow smile was still sexy as hell and it made my belly clench as I remembered in vivid detail exactly what those lips felt like against mine. On my neck, my nipples, my inner thighs. He reached a hand out and brushed the back of his fingers along my cheek, as if I was something precious that he’d just discovered. Or someone he’d lost who’d now been found. My eyes fell closed at the tender caress. “Please, give us one night to show you just how good it could be.”
Oh, my fucking stars. His low, sexy voice alone would have been enough to make me swoon. But add in that smoldering gaze and the hint of a promise that they’d rock my world—needless to say, my panties were wet. All he had to do was talk, for Cooper to give me a heated stare and I was more aroused than I’d been in years. My breath came in short pants as my brain processed his words and tried to come up with a reasonable response. By that I meant a response in which I didn’t launch myself at him and beg him to fuck me right then and there.
I was telling them no and with just a few words I was a panty melting mess.
Focus, Ivy. I couldn’t have them. These men were strictly off limits. I had to think of my family. My daughter.
But Rory’s dark gaze never wavered, and while I couldn’t see Cooper, I could feel his eyes on me as well.
That was when it truly hit me. They wouldn’t give up. Not now, not ever—not unless I gave them a chance.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up in my chest, but I managed to swallow it down. What the fuck was I supposed to do? If I said no, they wouldn’t stop until they’d changed my mind. Maybe even show up at my home. Not maybe, definitely.
“Are you all right?” Cooper asked. He’d come to join us and his eyes were crinkled up at the corners in concern. “You look awfully pale.”
I nodded quickly. Yeah, I was fine. Great. I licked my lips and both of them stared at my mouth. “You have to admit you too are a little overwhelming.”
They both grinned and it was possible I might have just come from that alone. Sweet baby Jesus, they were gorgeous. One fair, the other dark, but both…wow. I felt so small beside them, so feminine. They were bigger than I ever remembered. And their muscles? God handed out a few extra for these two.
I could either give these guys what they wanted and try my damnedest to get them to accept the fact that I’d moved on—okay, not really at all—or I could live in fear that they would show up unannounced on my doorstep.
My sigh was far from gracious. “All right, fine. One dinner.”
They glanced at each other and at me like I’d just found the cure for cancer.
“That lacked the eagerness I was hoping for, but I’ll take it,” Rory said. He leaned in closer. “I’ll take you, any way I can get you.”
I imagined him taking me bent over the hood of my car, up against a wall, from behind…all kinds of dirty possibilities made me practically whimper.
We agreed on a time the following night—that would give me the opportunity to get my head on straight. Hopefully. I got Rory’s phone number and promised to text them my address.
Cooper just shook his head and his gaze dropped to my lips. Instinctively, I licked them and I heard a rumble from deep in his chest. “It took us seven years to find you. We’ll call you.” He pulled out a cell from his shirt pocket and typed in the digits I gave him. Only then were they reassured and stepped back.
Before I could question my sanity or start hyperventilating, I said my goodbyes and slipped into my car.
It wasn’t until I was standing there in the foyer of my aunt’s house that I realized I’d never stopped at the s
tore for groceries. I’d driven home in a trance, not even remembering parking the car into the driveway. Soon, I’d have to go and pick up Lily and I needed to pull myself together beforehand.
She was only six, but she was a perceptive little girl. I didn’t want her asking questions about why I was acting funny. Why I wanted to reach down between my legs and touch myself, to make myself come. Because honestly, what could I say? I’m freaking out because I saw your daddies today, sweetheart, and they were too hot to resist.
I was so not ready to have that conversation, or at least a G-rated version of it.
I stared at my reflection in the entryway mirror. To their eyes, I probably looked the same as they remembered, or similar at least. I touched my shorter hair, saw that my makeup was more subdued. But I was still tall and slender, with the same heart-shaped face and blue eyes. I needed to make it clear to them that I might look the same, but looks could be deceiving. I wasn’t that girl anymore and beneath my clothes, I wasn’t nubile or eighteen. Were they interested in what we had together seven years ago or the woman I’d become? They said they wanted to learn more, but I’d shut them down, hadn’t given them the chance. No, their chance was tomorrow night. One night.
You’re ours—you always have been.
My heart fluttered in my chest at the thought. Back when I was a kid I used to think the Bridgewater way was romantic. Sweet, even. Two men sweeping me off my feet. I met my gaze in the mirror again. Now the Bridgewater way just scared the crap out of me. They thought I was the one. The. One. That I could be their future. My chest tightened painfully. There was no way, not after all this time and not with all the secrets between us. They might want me in their lives, but I didn’t want them.
No, I did want them. Too much, and that was the problem. It wasn’t just about me any more.
The ache between my thighs that hadn’t subsided called me a liar. I couldn’t deny that I was still attracted to them, but I was a grown up now. I knew that attraction wasn’t everything. It didn’t necessarily equal commitment and family, and that was what I needed. Lily needed it. Deserved it.
I smirked at my reflection in the mirror. I supposed family was what they’d given me, in a roundabout way. Without them, without that one night, there would be no Lily, and she was my family. She was my everything. I’d given her a stable home and I wasn’t about to let two near-strangers into her life to wreak havoc because they were hung up on one night seven years ago.
Besides, there was no telling what they’d do if they found out they had a child they knew nothing about.
CHAPTER THREE
RORY
It took Cooper way too long to open the door to his hotel room. I had to seek him out when he never showed up for breakfast and when he opened the door, I saw why. “You look like shit.”
Cooper grimaced and winced at the light coming from the hallway. He headed back into the room, leaving me to follow, rubbing the back of his neck as he went.
“Did you get any sleep last night?” Shit. I hated when my tone took on that mother hen sound. It wasn’t me. Or at least it hadn’t been until nearly a year ago when Cooper stopped eating and sleeping unless someone forced him to. PTSD was a bitch. A ruthless bitch. He’d gotten better at day-to-day survival these past few months, therapy had helped, but I still found myself checking up on him, making sure he was getting by.
Not that my forcing him to eat a healthy meal now and again made up for the fact that I’d ruined his life, but for now it was the best I could do. It had been my dream to go into the army, not his. I’d wanted out of my fucked up house and while he’d had a Leave It To Beaver family, he’d enlisted with me. Only to get blown out of the damn sky.
And now he wasn’t sleeping because of nightmares. Haunted by the ghosts of those who’d died. Learning of Ivy’s whereabouts had helped, but seeing her had fucked with him. I wasn’t sure if it was because she hadn’t leaped into either of our arms or her telling us we were seven years too late. Either way, reality was also a bitch.
Maybe it was because she was so fucking perfect, that he wanted her when those six soldiers who died would never know the feel of woman’s arms around his neck, the tight heat of her pussy.
When Cooper ignored my question and started digging through his backpack for a change of clothes, I knew I had my answer. He hadn’t slept—at least not after the nightmare I was sure he’d had. I knew he had them about the crash more nights than not, how he wouldn’t be able to sleep after. Sometimes he talked to me about them, but most often he kept quiet like he was doing now.
“Did you already eat?” Cooper asked, heading toward the bathroom sink with a toothbrush in hand.
“Yeah, but I’ll go back to the diner with you. I could use another cup of coffee.”
Cooper’s response was a snort of disbelief as he scratched his dick through his boxers. “You just want to make sure I eat breakfast.”
I shrugged when Cooper caught my eye in the mirror’s reflection. Guilty. But his eyes? Bloodshot and full of guilt. Pain. Shame.
Cooper shook his head before spitting out some toothpaste. “I don’t need you looking over my shoulder all the time. I’ve been eating three meals a day, like a good little boy.”
I ignored his harsh, sarcastic tone. It was going to be one of those days. I just hoped he shook off the nightmare and the hangover that came with it before we picked Ivy up for our date.
“I could use another cup of coffee,” I said. It was the truth, whether he believed me or not. I’d been up half the night too, though not with nightmares. I’d been thinking about Ivy…and how the fuck I was going to make sure she came back to Bridgewater with us. She was everything I remembered, and more. She’d been barely a woman then, all lean, sweet curves. Now? Now she was all woman. Lush breasts, rounded hips. Her hair was a touch darker, shorter, but it looked as silky as I when I’d run my fingers through it before. I wanted to touch her, discover every inch of her all over again. We were all different, changed, and so while we had a past together, we had to start over.
I was excited for that. Eager to discover the older, wiser Ivy. I just had to hope she wanted to do the same for us. We weren’t the men who she remembered and it was going to be damn hard to get her to want two damaged souls. Just seeing the results of Cooper’s rough night had me worried.
Everything was riding on this. I’d been dreaming about settling down with Ivy since forever. Fuck, since we took her home that night after we claimed her. Since we got on that bus to boot camp. Since we boarded the C-5 and headed to Afghanistan for the first tour. Then the second.
I knew it was the same for Cooper, although it would be harder for him to show it, to express his interest, his hope, and that was why it fell on me to make sure we won her over. Cooper needed her. I needed her, too, but Cooper…hell, he needed something positive in his life. Someone to love and take care of. To see that there was good in the world. Someone who would help him laugh again. That it was okay to laugh again.
I owed him this. Growing up with a deadbeat dad and an alcoholic mom, it was no wonder that I’d wanted to escape Bridgewater. All through high school, I couldn’t wait to get out of my shitty house and Cooper had promised to stay by my side. We’d long since agreed that we’d find a woman together, and Cooper had taken it a step further by enlisting with me even though he had a damn near Norman Rockwell family.
It shouldn’t have ended the way it did. Hearing my best friend had been shot down, that his chopper had crashed in the rugged fucking desert and they weren’t sure if there were any survivors. Rushing to the field hospital to learn the truth, that he’d been the only one to survive, and barely. To be stuck in hell as he was shipped to Germany to recover. To have to finish out the last month of my damn tour before I could join him in DC at the rehab hospital. He was a “brother from another mother.”
If anyone should have suffered physical and emotional pain, it should have been me. I’d always been the tough one, the strong one. Not that Cooper w
asn’t, fuck, he was the strongest man I knew, but he’d never had any need to be. He had a good life, grew up in a kind household. An amazing mother and two dads I respected the hell out of. Me…I’d been training my whole life to deal with pain and fight back against despair. I was used to it, being dealt the worst hands in a deck and dealing with it. Going all in even when the odds were against me. I could go to hell and come back laughing. Cooper…he was too good for that shit. He’d gone to hell, that was for damn sure, I just wasn’t sure if he’d ever come back.
I followed him out of the hotel and across the street to the diner. His shattered leg had healed and I no longer had to slow my pace to match his. But the scars would remain. Obvious reminders to him—and anyone who saw his bare arms and torso, his left leg—of what had happened. I guessed that was how life worked—the people who got hurt weren’t always the ones who deserved it. Life wasn’t fair, I knew that. But it still sucked. And I still intended to do everything in my power to make things right and to give Cooper the kind of life he deserved.
That meant winning Ivy back and bringing her home with us so we could start a new life. Together. We’d only had one night to show her what she meant to us and we wanted a lifetime more.
Cooper remained too quiet until the coffee was poured and his eggs were set in front of him. He toyed with his food and I sat there patiently sipping from my mug. I knew he was deep in thought and he’d talk when he was ready. That still didn’t prepare me for what he said.
“I think we should go back to Bridgewater.” His bloodshot eyes met mine. “Today. This afternoon.”
